George F. Kennan, former ambassador to Moscow, was one of the founders of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. Source: AP

Following the news of the
Wilson Center’s decision to close the Kennan Institute’s Moscow office, Russian
commentators have argued that this move may affect long-term academic
collaboration between Russia and the United States. Meanwhile, a number of
think tanks have expressed their regret at the loss of such reliable partners.

The news about the Wilson
Center’s plans was revealed by Kennan Institute's fellow Victoria Zhuravleva,
who is also a professor of American History and International Relations in the
Department of International and Area Studies at the Russian State University
for the Humanities. She is one of the initiators of the open letter from the
Kennan Institute’s alumni in Moscow that was
posted on Feb. 10.

Earlier, Matthew Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute, told Voice of
America that he
does not intend to close the center, but rather reduce and reorganize its
presence in Moscow because of lack of funding from private donors and one of
the U.S. federal programs such as Title VIII.

The Russian academic community reacted with shock and alarm to the recent decision by the Washington, D.C.-based Woodrow Wilson Center to shut down the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute.

“I can absolutely confirm
that Kennan is not disappearing from Moscow or Russia,” Rojansky told Russia
Direct by e-mail.

“We remain 100 percent committed to working with our
over 400 alumni in the Russian Federation, offering fellowship opportunities,
promoting exchange with U.S. scholars, co-organizing conferences and meetings,
and publishing and disseminating scholarly work — in short, the key areas of
Kennan’s work in Russia for over 20 years. The financial challenge we have
faced is very real, and as a result we will simply have to find more
financially sustainable ways to do this work. We are engaged in that task right
now, and will announce our future plans very soon.”

Likewise, Zhuravleva is
concerned with the situation. “The Moscow office is going to be closed and the
funding may be stopped,” Zhuravleva said. According to her, it remains unclear
in what format the Kennan Moscow Project will work in the future.

The launch of the Moscow Kennan
office 21 years ago brought together a generation of Russian and American
experts studying Russia and bilateral relations between the countries.

“The situation is very
weird,” Zhuravleva told Russia Direct. “Although the office passed
inspection by Russia’s authorities, it is Washington that closed it in the wake
of the decline in U.S.-Russia relations.”

Related:

Russian alumni of the
Institute has already sent the letter to U.S. Department of State and the U.S.
Embassy in Moscow, and has also posted it on social media.

According to General
Director of Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) Andrei Kortunov, the
closure of the Moscow office is in line with the trend of halting U.S.
supporting activity in Russia.

“For many, it will be bad
news that indicates that America is losing interest in Russia and switching to
other regions,” he said pointing to the 2012 closure of the U.S.
Agency of International Development (USAID).

Indeed, Washington seems to
be disengaging from Russia. Last year, U.S. Congress announced plans to
withdraw funding from the Title VIII Grant Program, which supports regional
studies related to Russia, Eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet
Union. The program supports U.S. citizens in pursuing language training and
policy-relevant research in the social sciences and humanities.

“In 2002 the program’s budget
was $4.5 million ($5.8 million in 2012 dollars), but it was cut to $3.3 million
in 2012 and to $0 in 2013,” wrote Laura Adams, director of the Program on
Central Asia and the Caucasus at Harvard University, in her column for
Russia Direct.

Zhuravleva argues that
despite the recent cuts in funding U.S. programs related to Russia and The
Wilson Center’s serious financial challenges, it seems to be a reckless
decision to close the Kennan Moscow office in the year when it is celebrating
its 40th anniversary and 21 years of activity in Russia.

“[Given the fact] that
Kennan Institute is one of the leading U.S. center in Russian Studies, it [the
decision] will affect U.S.-Russia relations,” Zhuravleva said. “After all, the
Kennan Institute has always called for a non-governmental dialogue between two
countries.”

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